Khamenei: Iran won’t give up ‘defensive power, regional presence, nuclear progress’

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Tehran will not bow to pressure to reduce its “defensive power,” regional proxies, and progress in nuclear technology, he was cited as saying in Iranian state media on Thursday.

“Suggestions to reduce our defensive power so as to appease the enemy are nothing more than naive and ill-advised… Over time, these flawed proposals have been rebutted, but if they weren’t, Iran would have now faced great threats,” Khamenei was quoted as saying.

“Regional presence gives us strategic depth and more power. Why should we give it up? Scientific progress in the nuclear field is related to our future needs, and if we give that up, will anyone help us in the future?” he added.

Tehran is locked in negotiations with world powers to revive the nuclear deal that offered it sanctions relief in return for curbs on its atomic program.

Its arch-foe the United States, under former US president Donald Trump, unilaterally withdrew in 2018 from the accord known formally as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

Negotiators have signaled that talks had progressed into a “final phase,” but pending issues were still unresolved.

Israel has warned that funds from an economy freed from sanctions will enable Iran to step up support for its proxies across the Middle East, including Lebanon’s Hezbollah terror group.

Khamenei’s comments came as Iran’s top diplomat accused the US of making additional demands to the talks and working to “complicate” efforts to restore a 2015 nuclear deal, after new Russian requests linked to the Ukraine war raised concerns of fresh delays.

“There is no rational justification for some of the new demands made by the United States, and it contradicts the country’s position on reaching an agreement swiftly,” Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said in a phone call with EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, his ministry reported.

Amir-Abdollahian did not specify the demands, but said “the US cannot pass on a new and different message to us every day through the coordinator,” in reference to the EU.

Borrell called on the US and Iran to be “more flexible in exchanging messages and make efforts” to reach an agreement quickly, according to the ministry.

Earlier on Thursday, Iran’s top security official Ali Shamkhani tweeted that “Vienna negotiations are becoming more complicated every hour without a political decision by the United States.”

“US approach to Iran’s principled demands, coupled with its unreasonable offers and unjustified pressure to hastily reach an agreement, show that US isn’t interested in a strong deal that would satisfy both parties,” he added.